Celebrity Worship

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 Celebrity Worship

Introduction

Celebrities are increasingly taking center stage in the lives of many younger

generations, who are increasingly interested in the real-life details of these public figures.

And with social media such as Tik Tok becoming the longest-used app on mobile phones, the

wave of celebrities becoming symbols of dialogue between different social groups is

increasing. This act proves that the phenomenon is becoming a concern (Carr). Some

journalists and scholars point out that teenagers always want to hear updates or news about

the personal lives of considered celebrities (Carr). These young people are collectively

known as "star-struck," and recently, this phenomenon has been viewed more prominent than

ever before. Some scholars believe that the pursuit and desire to know the intricate details of

celebrities' private lives is a syndrome of obsessive-compulsive disorder (Sansone and

Sansone 2014). But at the same time, many of the earliest star-struck have entered society.

Some of them say that because of their star-chasing experience, they find suitable jobs and

develop their abilities. I think rational star-chasing behavior can be supported; there is no

need to completely deny this thing because there is nothing wrong with liking; positive

emotions will become a power to optimize personal ability. There is no need for chasing stars

to completely deny themselves because of other people's criticism and denial of this behavior.

Instead, they should become better by chasing stars. They should reflect on whether their

behavior is too much pursuit of understanding the private life of their idols and take their

chasing stars as a positive motivation for themselves.

Background

Celebrity worship is defined by sociology as a form of celeb-enhanced passion among

social media celebrities, musicians, or sports stars (Sansone and San-sone). Many young

people who follow the life events of celebrities as closely as a passionate fan will be
enthusiastic about what is happening in their lives, but excessive worship is sometimes

considered psychopathology. Public figures have a much more significant influence on others

than we think. Their every move will influence the world outlook, life outlook, values, and

right and wrong views of the young people who support them. Many celebrities on social

media have achieved success at a very young age, accumulating immense wealth and gaining

the love of many people at a young age. Their success in terms of wealth and emotion has

attracted many people eager to follow their shadow (Karl). Therefore, celebrity worship is

like a kind of hero worship, just as people in ancient times worshiped leaders with great

strength and generals with fewer because people will always worship those who can do what

they cannot do. In this age of information explosion, the emergence and disappearance of

celebrities are also accelerated, and the formation of fan groups is much faster than before.

This phenomenon has escalated, especially among teenagers, so some regulators are

worried about celebrities and fan clubs' excessive influence on disadvantaged groups. Once

the celebrity behavior violates the social, moral ethics, some irrational fans will choose for

their idols chicanery, because they are too to pursue their idols, their excessive apotheosis,

they become to the behavior of the primary celebrity judge of ability, but if a celebrity to

conduct has always been filled with positive energy, To convey the correct values and morals

of the society, usually, his fans are also very willing to do all kinds of charity and passionate

about life. So this phenomenon has adverse or beneficial effects on social and psychological

development. This topic is significant for our teenagers. As young people, how to keep their

essential judgment and not be controlled by their thoughts in the behavior of star-chasing, to

become their courage to face life and challenges positively by transforming this emotion, and

what steps to take to reduce the negative results are of great importance to us.

There are three dimensions of celebrity worship; entertainment-social, intensely

personal, and borderline pathological. The entertainment-social dimension is when

focal point for like-minded people. Individuals who have solid and compulsive feelings

towards a star fall into the intense-personal category, while people who demonstrate

uncontrollable habits and fantasies for a celebrity fall into the borderline-pathological

category.

The opponents

Of course, some people believe that celebrity worship is a sub-healthy culture.

According to the New York Times, the Chinese government believes that the growing

Internet culture is poisoning the minds of young people, worshiping celebrities, and is an

unhealthy trend that leads to social and psychological problems among the affected

population. (Stevenson). One view is that celebrity worship is detrimental to the development

of society and has a negative or positive influence on the minds of young people (Carr 2021).

This idea is quite understandable. Many parents and teachers believe that young people who

indulge in celebrity worship will increase their time on social media, which is considered

meaningless by parents and teachers. It has also been shown that the phenomenon of celebrity

obsession can lead to destructive tendencies in adolescents because their development has not

yet reached maturity, and their academic and extracurricular activities are at risk because of

the social celebrity status they have gained from illusory fame (Sansone and Sansone 2014).

It is true that some teenagers forget their values in the process of celebrity worship and take

idols as everything. However, we know that if we can choose the right idols to like and try

our best to absorb the shining points.

Parents and teachers cannot help their children in this process; young people trust

their parents and teachers the most. Excessive celebrity worship should be reduced if parents

and teachers pay attention to guide young people's thoughts in daily life. Also can use the
reward mechanism appropriately in everyday life to encourage young people to study hard

and live. Research also shows that most people in the UK who embrace celebrity worship

have experienced poor mental health in anxiety, depression, high-stress levels, and poor body

image. Among females aged between 14-16, there is a correlation between body image and

celebrity worship (North et al.300). Most of these girls experience poor body image

compared to other females. Intense personal celebrity-obsessed people experience

segregation and are more prone to fantasm.

My opinion

I fully understand the argument against celebrity worship, as many naysayers have

never experienced true celebrity worship. I support rational celebrity worship because I am

one of them. I have been a boy Band fan for more than eight years. Because of this event, I

changed from a very introverted person, so now I can talk to strangers bravely, all because I

participated in some public welfare offline fan activities. I am also very grateful to my

mother, who has guided me in the process of chasing stars. In the beginning, of course, IT

was easy for me to take liking celebrities as my spare time, but my parents said that if I like

them, I should strive to be closer to them and become a better myself, then such liking is

meaningful. Therefore, I learned video editing, Korean, and CG painting in my spare time.

My process has paid off for me. Others believe that supporting idols cultivates teenagers'

various practical abilities, such as socializing, such as video editing, management ability,

perseverance, and so on. Some people get high-paying jobs because they have experience

working in support groups. By watching videos of celebrities on various social software, we

can learn about their successful experience and help young people find the direction of their

future efforts. Worshiping celebrities may contribute to developing various practical abilities

among teenagers, including their ability to interact socially through editing videos and

managing different skills (Stevenson 2021). I am one of them. Celebrity worship also
broadens individuals' interests as they can bring to light new concepts in which their

celebrities are involved. Many people try to realize their goals and dreams because of chasing

stars, shortening the gap between themselves and celebrities only like celebrities as hobbies.

Rather than worshiping celebrities as superhuman, this demographic honors their heroes who

positively influence their lives based on the life-improving steps undertaken (Carr 2021).

Similarly, Billie Eilish, who became a musician because she loved Justin Bieber, discovered

her musical talent and now performs on the same stage as her idol.

Various evolutionary biologists have also shown their support for celebrity worship,

saying that it is entirely natural to look up to someone who has captured the attention of many

through their success. In prehistoric times, this act would have meant respect and honor for

the brave members of society. However, we look at the celebrities whose success and fame

we want to emulate in the current community. According to Francesco Gill-White- an

Evolutionary Anthropologist at the University of Philadelphia, he argues that it is entirely

acceptable to rank individuals based on their success in the behaviors one is trying to emulate

(North et al., 295). This argument is based on the fact that celebrities use above-average

methods because they can acquire more of what everyone wants. In my opinion, people the

reason behind celebrity worship determines the outcome of an individual. People who

worship them for entertainment purposes and social causes are more buoyant, extroverted,

and upbeat. Those who worship celebrities for personal reasons end up being more obsessive,

anxious and reserved.

Celebrity worship has also helped many improve their communication skills as they

can interact with other fans through their celebrity-related stories and events that bring them

together. Significant improvement to both society and the environment has been attributed to

the worshipping of celebrities. Most public figures actively provide solutions to global-

related problems like climate change and conservation of nature and wildlife. These
celebrities help create awareness among the people on such global-related issues. This

awareness helps facilitate more accessible communications by worldwide organizations such

as the World Wildlife Fund or the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Wen et

al., 415). Most celebrities also rally for drug-free societies, healthy lifestyles, and positivity

in families, which dramatically influences individuals and the community. Many of these

celebrities bring to the light social issues such as poverty, drug abuse, lack of education,

racism, and even other social injustices. These acts help create awareness and mobilize the

media and the government to address these social issues. These celebrities have also

expressed interest in various careers and education, signifying that intellectual development is

essential to the environment.

Celebrities motivate youngsters through their conscientiousness and persistence,

leading to their remarkable careers. Parents should educate their kids to enjoy and appreciate

stars for their work because it is acceptable to worship them. Although some of these

celebrities act in inappropriate ways through their actions, they remain good illustrations of

how hard work and assiduity pay off at the end (Wen et al.410). Kids need to look up to

celebrities based on their career choices because of the price they paid for it; however,

parents need also to guide their children on which stars to look up to.

Conclusion

I hope all young people chasing stars cannot wholly deny their chasing stars because

of other people's opinions, because there is nothing wrong with liking this. The meaning of

stargazing is to meet a better version of oneself, rather than treating stars as their gods. They

are just ordinary human beings, and they also achieve success because of their persistent

efforts. Blindly worshiping will not make you closer to your idol. Only by working hard to

improve yourself and make yourself a positive example of star worship can more people

change their views on star worship. If more parents could understand that celebrity chasing is
not all bad, they might have less conflict with their children during adolescence, making

teenagers less rebellious. There will be a virtuous circle so that society will accept this matter

more, instead of just criticizing it.

The rapid advancement in technology has also played a crucial role in promoting

different ideas and concepts, emphasizing famous people. Most media sources use the

experiences of celebrity cultures to maximize their profits, which has adverse outcomes on

people and the community as most media sources present the lifestyles of these celebrities in

a distorted manner. Most sources focus more on the failure and misconduct of these

celebrities. They expose their secrets and make them the subject of global debate. Such news,

on the other end, entertains the audience while simultaneously influencing their perceptions

and worldviews. Many people begin to believe that there are easier paths to success, and

others may ultimately drop out of school because the prospect of becoming prominent

without exerting tremendous effort is always fascinating to the vast majority of people.

However, in most scenarios, the celebrity industry's disadvantages outweigh its merits. As a

result, it is vital to emphasize the positive features while attempting to mitigate the adverse

effects of famous persons on the modern system of values.

Carr, Coeli. A New Age of Celebrity Worship. 2006. Online. 2021.

North, Adrian C., et al. "Attributional style, self-esteem, and celebrity worship." Media

Psychology 9.2 (2007): 291-308.

Sansone, Randy A., and Lori A Sansone. "I'm Your Number One Fan"— A Clinical Look at

Celebrity Worship." Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience 2014

Stevenson, Alexandra. China's Celebrity Culture Is Raucous. The Authorities Want to

Change That. 2021. Online. 29 September 2021.

Wen, Nainan, and Di Cui. "Effects of celebrity involvement on young people's political and

civic engagement." Chinese Journal of Communication 7.4 (2014): 409-428.